Deutsche Bank Had âGood Startâ to 2009, Sees Return to Profit

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann said Germanyâs biggest bank had a âgood startâ to the year and expects to return to profitability after scaling back risky businesses and shedding toxic assets.

âWe are very disappointed at our loss in 2008, but absolutely determined to take all necessary measures to restore Deutsche Bank to the path of profitability,â Ackermann, 61, wrote in a letter to shareholders published in the annual report today. âAt the time of writing, I am pleased to report that we have made a good start to 2009.â

Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have said they were profitable in the first two months of the year, bolstering banking shares. Credit Suisse Group AG said today it had a âgood startâ to the year. Deutsche Bank generated increased revenue of 2.8 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in January, the bank said last month.

âDeutsche Bank is one of the big profiteers of the bond- market rebound,â said Dirk Becker, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Kepler Capital Markets, who recommends buying the stock. âWeâll likely see a comeback this year after a horrible fourth quarter.â

Deutsche Bank gained 1.4 euros, or 4.6 percent, to 32.10 euros by 9:07 a.m. in Frankfurt trading. The stock rose 53 percent this month, valuing the bank at 18.1 billion euros. That compares with an 18 percent advance in the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index of 65 companies.

As much as it pisses me off, I'm trying to see the bright side. Maybe this means that in the future US financial products & relationships will be able to carry an extra premium, since we're demonstrating to the whole world that as a nation we're willing to screw the taxpayers lights out to honor contracts.

I doubt the like of GS and DB will be able to reproduce this first quarter through trading. Most of the profits at GS came from FICC. Given the volumes I don't see this quarter as profitable as the first one.
Strip out the FICC contribution and you'll feel the pain.